Nuova Citta, an Italian Catholic publishing house, has had to make an embarrassing withdrawal after its translation of a new Catholic catechism book for young people, YouCat ("extraordinary and gripping": the Pope), stated that Church teaching permits the use of articificial contraception such as condoms rather than the "natural family planning" methods favoured by the Vatican.

The book consists of questions and answers on the catechism, and the original German version of YouCat asks whether married couples can "regulate conception", the answer being and emphatic "Yes". In the erroneous Italian translation, the question became one asking whether couples can "use contraceptive methods", with answer remaining in the affirmative.

The publishers had printed 45,000 Italian copies of the book, with between 15,000 and 16,000 already sold. Rev. Joseph Fessio, head of Ignatius Press, which is publishing YouCat in English, described the misprint as "an embarassment".

Nuova Citta, an Italian Catholic publishing house, has had to make an embarrassing withdrawal after its translation of a new Catholic catechism book for young people, YouCat ("extraordinary and gripping": the Pope), stated that Church teaching permits the use of articificial contraception such as condoms rather than the "natural family planning" methods favoured by the Vatican.

The book consists of questions and answers on the catechism, and the original German version of YouCat asks whether married couples can "regulate conception", the answer being and emphatic "Yes". In the erroneous Italian translation, the question became one asking whether couples can "use contraceptive methods", with answer remaining in the affirmative.

The publishers had printed 45,000 Italian copies of the book, with between 15,000 and 16,000 already sold. Rev. Joseph Fessio, head of Ignatius Press, which is publishing YouCat in English, described the misprint as "an embarassment".